Authors’ Background: Dr. Ved Vyas is an Emergency Medicine physician with over 13 years of experience, trained under globally recognised standards set by the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (MRCEM). His medical journey has taken him across two countries and nine cities, enriching his understanding of diverse cultures, people, and philosophies. He also served as a COVID-19 intensivist during the first wave of the pandemic.

Fluent in six languages, Dr. Ved Vyas effortlessly balances his life as a healer with his deep passion for the arts. Influenced by a literary mother and a celebrated musical lineage, he draws inspiration from literature, painting, interior décor, and his personal collection of art. His home in Goa serves as his sanctuary for creativity and introspection. An animal lover at heart, he has adopted a cow, a dog, and finds peace tending to his balcony garden and aquarium. His poetry is his medium of catharsis—direct, simple, and unfiltered. His verses explore musings, spirituality, and life lessons, reflecting his belief that some stories must be told and some silences must be broken.

Questionnaire:

The Literature Today: Your career as an emergency room physician spans two countries and nine cities. How did these environments shape the emotional landscape that eventually formed “A Healer’s Hymns?”

Dr. Ved Vyas: They broke every stereotype there is about people and their surroundings. A lot of myths were debunked, and I saw people for who they really were. People like you and me who wish to live a simple life of harmony, security, and are sometimes even willing to help out a stranger in need. I realised early on that what the media portrays and what one sees in real life is vastly different. It shaped my overall vision of humanity in the book, making sure my experiences are similar to those I met.

The Literature Today: You’re fluent in six languages and deeply connected to multiple cultures. How does this multicultural fluency influence your poetic voice and the emotional cadences in your writing?

Dr. Ved Vyas: Language is a tool that breaks barriers and narratives and sets one free to hear what the opposite party really wishes to say. Poetry, in the end, is the language of the soul. In the end, it’s the language that is not spoken of but uttered in silence till someone picks up a book and reads it. Spanning cultures made me look at society as a prism of light that shines uniquely, where everyone has their own version of life, truth, suffering, and pain. But unspoken, undocumented, and a voice that needs to he heard.

The Literature Today: The book transforms scars into art. Was there a specific moment in your medical journey when you realised that poetry could become your outlet for processing pain and resilience?

Dr. Ved Vyas: I could count days where I’d come sans healing from past trauma, from past horrors that I carried. Poetry became that very outlet for me because I had to channelize my work in some emotive aspect. This was not for an audience; this was my own journal, which o never expected anyone to read. And the genre kept changing as the emotions kept changing. Hence, the book is a mixed aspect of whatever my mind mixed at the time to give me some succour in my time of need.

The Literature Today: Your home is described as a sanctuary for introspection, creativity, and healing. How does this personal space influence your writing rituals and the meditative tone of the collection?

Dr. Ved Vyas: People joke that my home is a museum. I’ve collected from the artist Frida Kahlo, Tanjavur paintings, montages to Van Gogh, my own art (as I paint as well), incense that wafts through the shrines of Hecate and Apollo (Greek Gods), and the lamp that shines in my Hindu Altar. Green Tara sits nestled amongst my plants, and this very home is the home of a writer with a myriad of personas he carries. It’s my sanctuary curated to channel my innermost thoughts by each granting me their energy to be my inner muse to constantly keep creating something out of nothing….

The Literature Today: The blurb mentions sacrifice and adversity being central to the work. How do you balance the emotional toll of medical emergencies with the artistic vulnerability required to write poetry?

Dr. Ved Vyas: My emergencies, to be honest, were both medical and personal. I once read (roughly) that “Art is a heady wine,” the source baffles me….And art of all things was my portal of unleashing my torment into its headiness, which was intoxicating with verses and rhyme and honest candor. One is an honest artist, and one is also an honest drunk. It was that potency of honesty where there was no ear to listen to, that channelled all my emotions into poetry, be it pain, or happiness suppressed.

The Literature Today: You juggle diverse passions — painting, photography, singing, culinary arts, and even interior design. Which of these creative disciplines most directly shapes the aesthetics of your poems?

Dr. Ved Vyas: They come under the umbrella of art. In Somerset Maugham’s The Alien Corn, there is a quote, “Art is the only thing that matters. In comparison with art, wealth and rank and power are not worth a straw”. I stand by this,  I stand by the ability for a human to overcome their inhibitions and unleash whatever inner artist they’ve subdued due to pressures of family or society. What I did was I didn’t subdue, but managed to seamlessly inculcate my work for an audience that never existed. The only audience is me. Cooking turns the raw into a canvas of a finished, garnished product, interiors give your home an identity, and to photograph is to capture the emotion of a bird in flight or the smile of a happy child and frame it for years to come, immortalising them in a way.

The Literature Today: Animals play a meaningful role in your day-to-day world. How do your dog, cow, and aquarium companions contribute to your sense of calm, and does that serenity trickle into your verses?

Dr. Ved Vyas: The cow I adopted was out of sheer reverence for the work the shelter was doing for abandoned animals. The karmic bit one can do or the least one can do. The aquarium is a terrarium of life where I can see them thrive and live. And it fascinates me, to see a world in a world. Most importantly, my dog Luna (She arrived on a full moon) has been my support companion. She understands my innate emotions better than most humans could.  Silence and companionship are two keys that most have forgotten, which I’ve discovered in animals.

The Literature Today: Your book, “A Healer’s Hymns,” is described as a melodic narrative of a healer’s soul. How do you interpret the word ‘melodic’ in the context of written poetry?

Dr. Ved Vyas: A musician once said there is a rhythm and vibe underlying everything. Poetry has a meter. A structure. A return, be it an octet, a quatrain etc. Then there is even abstract poetry sans rhythm, like Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. Which was a rhythm of raw emotion against conformity and social constraints. That very melody is the hallmark of the greatest of poets whose soul you’ll find basking in between the lines they wrote and catered to.

The Literature Today: Your poems whisper truths rather than shout them. What do you believe is the power of quiet storytelling in a world full of noise and urgency?

Dr. Ved Vyas: Noise is ugly. It’s reticent with displeasure, and one moves away from something out of sync. Silence has a very innate and very raw power that draws people like moths to a flame. The wind, the chimes, and the rustle of trees in autumn are what one remembers. Not the siren of a vehicle which would evoke a negative emotion or the baring of loudspeakers which mean that the voice only has volume but no substance.  And in this day and age, it’s substance one looks for, not noise, not drama, not flashy sequences which blur one’s eyes. The quiet story you heard sitting on the lap of your grandparent will be remembered till your last days, compared to the blare of the media.

The Literature Today: Many readers may turn to this book for solace. What emotional journey do you hope they undertake as they move through the collection?

Dr. Ved Vyas: The journey that’s designed and destined for themselves. Be it any line of work or passion that drives them. It’s to remind them that, yes, many times life is very unkind. And far be it from me to tell them to buckle up when they’re all fighting their inner demons. But in the end, I do tell them that hope is a small aspect that is very silent and no one shall offer of without you yourself inculcating it when life gets rough.

The Literature Today: Lastly, with your rich background in medicine, art, and multicultural experiences, do you see “A Healer’s Hymns” as the beginning of a larger literary journey, or a standalone reflection of a particular moment in your life?

Dr. Ved Vyas: I see it as a beginning, as perhaps destiny has channelled me to challenge conventional norms and, through my work, tell a soul that is struggling what life is all about and what can be done to undo several years of pain and trauma. What it is to rebuild from scratch, and what does it mean to fly reborn like a phoenix?